Riteish Deshmukh: Important to stay relevant

Actor Riteish Deshmukh, who has seen success as well as failure in Bollywood, says he is a secure person, and that reflects in his work and his journey in the profession.

Riteish entered Bollywood in 2003 with a love story "Tujhe Meri Kasam", where he also found love of his life and wife Genelia.

"I never thought I will get a film after my first film, and things kept coming. I kept getting offers, some films didn't work and some worked well. Every actor has a journey of giving hits and flops," Riteish told IANS while looking back at his career.

The actor, son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh, went on to explore his calibre by getting associated with projects such as "Masti", "Malamaal Weekly", "Apna Sapna Money Money", "Dhamaal" franchise, "Housefull" films and "Ek Villain".

There were some misses with "Naach","Cash", "Heyy Babyy", "Do Knot Disturb", "Aladin", "Rann", "Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai", "Bangistan", "Mastizaade" and "Banjo" turning out to be duds.

Riteish feels it is very important for an actor stay relevant.

"It is important to be relevant even if it is in the same genre. Like is there something new which I can attempt, be it in comedy or is my villain avatar in 'Marjaavaan' different to the one in 'Ek Villain'. I have done dramas like 'Run' and horror films. I have been parts of various genres. Whenever you try a new genre, it is important for it to be successful for people to remember or relate to it. People tend to forget the unsuccessful films. So, (it is important) to stay relevant because audience choices are changing very fast. Thankfully, as actors, there are new roles that are coming to us and one is just happy to do it," said the father of two.

The actor, who will soon be seen in "Baaghi 3", asserted that his experience have shaped him as a person.

"As an artist, every day you learn something new and want to be better actor than you were yesterday. Those kind of changes keep on happening. Choices have changed me as a person as well. I think experience of doing films and what is happening around me has made me a bit more mature in terms of my choices," said the actor, who has made a mark in Marathi cinema with action film "Lai Bhaari" added to his resume.

Did the experience of success and failure make you a secure actor?

"I am secure as a person. As a person if you are secure then that will reflect in your work, whether you are an actor or in some other profession. If you are insecure as a person, then whether you are an actor, engineer or a doctor, you will be insecure," said Riteish, who has produced Marathi film "Balak Palak" and "Yellow".